


Monochrome Flowers

by KusanoSaku



Series: The Legacy of the Will of Fire [5]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, BAMF Yamanaka Ino, Gen, Girl Power Ino, Ino Hates Bullies, Ino and Hinata Besties for Life, Ino and Sakura are NOT friends, Ino does NOT have a crush on Sasuke, Ino is Asuma's neice, Ino is a romantic, Ino is half-Sarutobi, Ino is the Queen of the Will of Fire, Ino is the Shadow Leader of Team Asuma, Ino is the best friend ever in the history of the Shinobi World, Ino-Shika-Cho Formation (Naruto), Ino-Shika-Cho Rules, Yamanaka Ino-centric
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-13
Updated: 2020-10-13
Packaged: 2021-03-08 01:13:28
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 11,240
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26987275
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KusanoSaku/pseuds/KusanoSaku
Summary: The Yamanaka heiress realizes quite young that she hates bullying and tries to challenge it.
Relationships: Akimichi Chouji & Nara Shikamaru & Yamanaka Ino, Sarutobi-Yamanaka Akane/Yamanaka Inoichi, Yamanaka Ino & Hyuuga Hinata, Yamanaka Ino's Mother/Yamanaka Inoichi
Series: The Legacy of the Will of Fire [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/184676
Comments: 6
Kudos: 18





	1. Prologue

Prologue

_You must ensure that your daughter never mixes with that Uzumaki…_

Ino certainly didn’t like the sound of that…

Who was this Uzumaki? Why couldn’t she be their friend?

Ino might respect her grandfather Inota but she wasn’t exactly thrilled to have her friends chosen for her. Not that she didn’t like Chōji and Shikamaru, but she would like to have a female friend…

It didn't feel very ‘Will of Fire’ to demand such a thing...

The Will of Fire was something that her mother spoke of often.

XoooooooX

Being the Yamanaka heiress, it was a given that her Ikebana would be top of the class. After all, the Yamanaka Clan owned a flower shop and many of the Clan grew flowers for it. Given that a member of her Clan had long been contracted to teach female members of the Hyūga Clan, but particularly its heiress Hinata, it wasn’t unbelievable that their presentations were similar in skill and presentation…

Hinata was sometimes bullied, not only by the boys for her quietness but also by the girls because Hinata refused to agree that Uchiha Sasuke was the handsomest boy in school or that Uzumaki Naruto was the most worthless. Ever since they met, Ino knew that Hinata never had a bad thing to say about anyone…

Another girl that Ino attempted to befriend and shield from bullies was Haruno Sakura, unlike Hinata who was bullied for being shy, Sakura was bullied because of her pink hair or her rather large brow. Not that Ino cared about what made girls attractive or boys for that matter. However, she could admit that Sasuke was good-looking, but he tended to be gruffer and occasionally, ruder than she liked. She was only ten, it was a bit too early to know what she really like liked. Given that Sasuke’s rudeness was due to his childhood best friend being bullied, it wasn’t exactly unwarranted. Even Shikamaru was protective in his own way of Chōji, who like Hinata hated to think badly of anyone. Ino knew that Shikamaru ‘tattled’ on bullies like Hibachi who taunted Naruto and even Kiba, because Chōji didn’t like the idea of disappointing his formidable father.

Their fathers were best friends and former teammates, they had all grown up hearing how amazing the previous generation’s Ino-Shika-Cho formation was. The three of them were quite aware that they had big shoes to fill. Her father’s mind transfer jutsu was revered and he was a very prominent member of the Anbu Interrogation Squad just as Shikamaru’s was revered for his tactics and ability to think around corners. Rumor had it that even the Third Hokage respected their parents. Chōji’s father Chōza was the head of the Border Patrol and Chōji was always fretting about disappointing his father…

XoooooooX

Ino was absolutely furious!

How dare she! Sakura of all people should know how being bullied felt. Ino could have handled it if Sakura ‘accidentally’ knocked over her flower arrangement, but to do that to Hinata and then claim that the shy girl was just clumsy, was too cruel.

She was disappointed that their sensei Uchiha Suzume actually believed Sakura…

During lunch, Ino dragged Sakura away.

Once they were alone, Ino hissed, “How could you?”

Sakura played dumb, “How could I what? I didn’t do anything…”

“I know you aren’t very good at Ikebana, but how could you destroy Hinata’s and blame her?”

“For once I wanted to not have the worst grade! My grades would be higher if it weren’t for that stupid class!” Sakura blurted out.

“Knocking it over was bad enough, but to blame Hinata was just cruel. You know how I feel about bullying!” Ino fumed.

“It’s just Hinata.” Sakura shrugged.

“What is that supposed to mean? Hinata may be shy, but she is also the kindest girl in the Academy, picking on her is like kicking a puppy or throwing stones at a kitten. You’ve been picked on before, how could you do that to someone else?”

“I don’t get what the big deal is…” Sakura grumbled.

“You don’t…” Ino gasped before snapping, “just forget it. I won’t be friends with a bully, you leave Hinata alone. Don’t expect me to give your advice in that class again.”

“Fine.” Sakura glowered.

“Fine,” Ino said before leaving.

With that line drawn, Ino stalked off to eat lunch with Hinata and her few other friends. She wasn’t going to bully Sakura, but she wasn’t going to go out of her way to be nice to her. If anyone bullied the pink-haired girl, Ino would speak up but Sakura wasn’t welcome to sit with Ino and her friends. Ino was definitely not going to help Sakura with advice to fix her flower arrangements anymore…


	2. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chichiue is Japanese, it is a very formal way of referring to one's father, it seems like something that someone as prim as Ino's mother in canon would have done.

Chapter 1

Ino was shocked when Iruka-sensei flunked Naruto…

She was certain that Iruka was one of Naruto’s guardians, it wasn’t as easy to tell the boys not to bully as it was the girls. She just cut them down with a look, the one her mother occasionally gave her when Ino was more boisterous than her mother Akane, formerly of the Sarutobi clan, approved of. Her mother was the Third Hokage’s only daughter and held herself to a similar standard as Lady Tsunade, the grandniece of the First Hokage and the granddaughter of the Second. The only difference being that her mother was not blessed with the same level of skill as one of the Sannin, the infamous students of Ino’s own grandfather.

Due to Sarutobi Hiruzen’s schedule and being named as the heir to the Yamanaka’s unlike her cousin Konohamaru who was the presumptive Sarutobi heir; Ino only saw the Third Hokage at official village events such as the Fire Festival…

Her mother had left the Sarutobi Clan when she married into the Yamanaka Clan. Ino was aware that she had cousins; Uncle Arashi and his wife had died when the Kyūbi attacked the village leaving behind a cousin just about her age. Then, Uncle Aichi died on a mission a few years later and his wife Mako, formerly of the Uchiha clan, supposedly died of a broken heart, leaving her cousin Konohamaru behind. Uncle Asuma didn’t have any kids yet and he was the youngest of them Third Hokage’s four children, having so many was unusual for a ninja, even one as long-lived as her grandfather. Both her cousins Satomi and Konohamaru lived in the Hokage residence with their mutual grandfather. Okaasan looked in on them as well but left their education and parenting to her own father. Given how busy he was, Ino sometimes wondered if that was wise.

Konohamaru was due to begin at the Academy in April and Satomi was supposed to sit the graduation exam as well. They were just in different classes for their final year at the Academy. Come to think of it, they had never been in the same class…

XoooooooX

Ino had figured out all on her own that Naruto had failed, because he never returned to the classroom and a sensei had to call her in for her test, which was easy, she just had to henge herself into the appearance of someone else. Ino had chosen Hinata, not to mock her, but because it was too creepy to wear her grandfather’s skin even as a façade and she didn’t want to be a sensei either…

Ino was stuck listening to the various parents muttering about how it was a ‘good thing that Naruto failed’…

If lecturing a bunch of adults wouldn’t embarrass her grandfather, the Third Hokage or her parents; then Ino would do so…

She decided to just keep her own counsel as she always had.

XoooooooX

Ino had often practiced her mind-transfer jutsu on her cat, it was useful to eavesdrop on her father and grandfather…

Thankfully, the mean old man had passed on just after she entered the Academy.

This meant she was actually eavesdropping on her parents and had to be careful…

Ino used the cat’s body to creep along the window, before curling up there.

_“I can’t believe that Mizuki was a traitor! Sure, we likely treat Naruto a little unfairly, but to set Naruto up like that…”_ her father fumed.

_“What did Mizuki-sensei do?”_

_“He tricked Naruto into thinking if he stole a scroll of Forbidden Jutsu and learned one of them, he could still graduate.”_ Her father chuckled, _“Mizuki might not have meant for that to actually happen, but it did.”_

Her mother frowned, _“How?”_

_“Naruto taught himself the Shadow Clone jutsu, he only failed because he couldn’t do the regular clone jutsu. He returned the scroll and helped reveal a traitor, he will be allowed to graduate but his first few missions will be boring.”_

_“Chichiue does have a soft spot for troublemakers and loners…”_ mother mused.

Ino was glad that Naruto actually passed, while they weren’t friends and she **did not** have a crush on Uchiha Sasuke, she knew that without Naruto, that Sasuke would be difficult for anyone to handle.

Sasuke was technically a cousin by marriage, his aunt Mako was Ino’s aunt through her uncle Aichi, both of whom had passed away.

XoooooooX

A few days after passing the graduation exam, Ino joined her fellow graduates at the Graduation Ceremony.

She was pleased to see her family: mother Akane and father Inoichi beaming with pride when her name was called up. There were also a few other prominent Yamanakas, she was expected to succeed her father after all.

  
  
“Team Asuma,” her grandfather, the Third Hokage announced, “Yamanaka Ino,”

Ino stepped forward, she was nervous as her name was called.  
  


Knowing that Uncle Asuma was the most likely Sarutobi to lead her Ino-Shika-Cho team meant that it wasn’t a surprise. She just hoped that she would prove herself worthy, she might not be a true Sarutobi, but she was proud to be the Third Hokage’s granddaughter…

Besides having big shoes to fill, she had to prove that she wasn’t in need of or expecting special treatment given who her relatives were.

She listened silently as the other teams were announced, she did feel pity for Naruto and Sasuke being saddled with her ex-friend as a teammate. Ino doubted that she would apply herself, after all, why would she need to with Sasuke around?


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Given that Hinata’s sensei Yūhi Kurenai was good friends with her own sensei, Ino saw Hinata often.

While Kiba seemed more relaxed the longer they were graduated, Shino did not seem to warm up to her, but he did seem to soften towards his teammates.

Despite being recently discharged from the Anbū, Kurenai-sensei was gentle and encouraging to Hinata. Hinata’s stutter was less noticeable now and they often found themselves assigned similar jobs from shopping to working in the Akimichi fields.

Despite not being in love with Sasuke, Ino was a bit of a romantic. She definitely believed there was something between her sensei and Hinata’s, as well as that adorable older Hyūga Kō who escorted her friend to training or at least to meet up with her teammates Kiba and Shino. Kō definitely had a crush on Hinata… it would take a man of the right sort to be married to a Clan Head and not be jealous or resentful of their inherited authority.

Despite Hinata’s lack of confidence, the two of them; herself and Hinata were destined to lead their clans. They were as equal as any two kunoichi could be…

Kō was a few years older and unlike most of his Clan, made little effort to rise above genin, he transferred to gate duty not long ago. Ino was suspicious it was due to his interest in protecting her friend. There was still time for Kō to change his mind...

Ino wasn't ready to consider a proper relationship just yet, she was only twelve. But she was keen on being the best she could, both as a person and as a Yamanaka.   
  
Ino was surprised when her uncle escorted them to Yakiniku-Q after training and made a surprising announcement.

“I’ve informed the Third Hokage that I believe you to be ready to sit the Chūnin Exams.”

Ino scowled, “You better not have just said that because you’re my uncle.”

“You’re my student and a Yamanaka,” Asuma said taking a drag on his cigarette. “I believe that you are ready because you are ready. You exceeded my expectations; your teamwork is brilliant, and I believe that all of you are very gifted. This is an opportunity that I think would help you mature mentally, deepen your bond as teammates and as well as give you a chance to face people who will push you farther than the missions we’ve shared will.”

  
  
“Are you sure we’re ready, Asuma sensei?” Chōji asked as he paused to stare at their sensei.  
  


“This is going to be troublesome,” Shikamaru grumbled.

Ino sighed, “You think everything is troublesome.”

“Someday,” Asuma said before taking a long drag off his cigarette, “you’ll meet someone who inspires you to work hard.”

Shikamaru snorted, “I just want to be an average ninja, working a mediocre job, marry a sweet-tempered woman, have a child and die at the age of sixty.”

“You’d be miserable.” Ino said shaking her head, “You need a woman with spirit and a job that stimulates your mind.”

“How would you know? You’re like a sister.”

“Exactly,” Ino grinned.

  
“How troublesome,” Shikamaru grumbled again before hiding his face in his arms to Ino’s bemusement and annoyance.

“You really think we can do it, Asuma-sensei?” Chōji asked nervously.

“Obviously, have I ever put you in a situation I knew you would fail?” Asuma said before taking another drag of his cigarette.

Chōji thought as he nibbled on a large piece of meat before announcing, “I don’t think so.”

Because of his eating habits, his weight and his thoughtful nature, Chōji was often considered to be unintelligent.

Ino knew better, she recognized her teammates’ skills in a different way than Shikamaru did. Her childhood friend took after his dad and was a genius in his own right. After all, Ino had asked if Asuma-sensei soon after becoming an official team if he had considered testing Shikamaru’s intelligence.

  
He was surprised at how smart Shikamaru was and tried to get them missions that used all of their skills. Such as letting Shikamaru plan a shopping trip- the fastest path, who should fetch what from the client’s list, the most effective way to farm for Akimichis and the like. At first glance, it seemed as if it were catering to Shikamaru’s laziness, but it wasn’t really. Chōji wasn’t as bookish as Shikamaru and herself but he was their team’s cook, he studied how to cook safety in a forest and what to eat. Ino knew she could rely on him if they made it to the Second Round of the Chūnin Exams.

Shikamaru complained about the exams but he didn’t refuse to sit them, it wasn’t Ino or Shikamaru who needed the confidence from sitting the Chūnin exams; it was Chōji. Ino knew that Shikamaru would never stand in the way of Chōji learning self-confidence.

XoooooooX  
  


Shikamaru and Chōji joined Ino in making their way up to register for the exams, Ino was surprised to find people getting off on the Second Floor instead of the Third. Shikamaru had subtly dispelled the genjutsu on himself and Chōji but they still followed the crowd out of curiosity.

They watched members of the Interrogation Squad, who worked with Ino’s father Inoichi and were using henges to look younger, bully a young ninja who seemed familiar. Wasn’t he in the year ahead of them? Ino was certain he had been bullied as well, but Ino hadn’t been as confident about standing up to students outside her year, especially boys.

  
  
The three of them stayed back, observing the test. Ino and Shikamaru had good resistance to genjutsu, but Chōji wasn't as adept as they were.

Ino had let Chōji lead them onto the wrong floor out of curiosity…

She was pleased to see something other than callous indifference from Nēji…

But the interest that Nēji's teammate Lee had for Sakura, worried Ino. Her former friend wasn't the type to accept attentions and flirtation from anyone other than the one person who refused to give them to her. Ino and Shikamaru watched from the shadows as Lee sparred with Sasuke, but left the moment it came to an end.

Ino had been curious if Sakura would change her opinion of Lee-san but she was just as cruelly dismissive as Ino suspected. Taunting their sempai that he never had a chance against Sasuke…

Ino shook her head, Sakura would continue to have no chance with Sasuke as long as she was cruel to Naruto. Not that she realized or cared to comprehend such a truth that was in conflict with her wishes.

Ino decided to go practice her ikebana, it was how she handled emotions and conflict. Shikamaru preferred shoji matches with his father or Uncle Asuma. While Chōji went hunting for rare potato chip flavors…

  
  
Ino expected that this experience, her first attempt at the Chūnin Exams would yield some interesting experiences.

XoooooooX

Ino was picked up by Chōji the morning of the first exam.

As typical of her friend, Chōji was panicking…

He had always had test anxiety…

Ino had him mostly calm by the time they met up with Shikamaru…

Shikamaru handled him a thermos of tea from his mother, it was their way. Ino would verbally calm Chōji while Shikamaru provided a Nara tea that was known to steady the nerves without making one tired.

They silently make their way to the Academy, it felt so odd to be back so soon.

They made it to the exam room without running into anymore genjutsu…

They were assigned seats having to do with the number they were assigned, Ino worried more about how Chōji was handling it.

Ino demurely listened as her father's colleague and department leader lectured them about the exam and tried to psyche them out. Due to having known Morino Ibiki, Ino wasn’t all that intimidated. She knew he could be a bit softer…

Ino would look after everyone she could… Chōji just needed a passing score and Shikamaru was fine, the moment she turned the test over, Ino felt a smidge of alarm on her own behalf. Ino knew these test questions were supposed to be hard, but this…

Only Shikamaru had a chance to understand them, Ino waited ten minutes and then used her mind transfer jutsu to switch with Shikamaru. She quickly memorized the entire first problem, copying it onto her own test before switching with Chōji. She did the same for two more test questions before she noticed Naruto, he never tested well either.

Luckily, he was sitting next to Hinata. If she knew her friend, the girl would let him have one question at least.

After making sure Chōji and herself had enough answers to pass, Ino went and answered one for Naruto. Leaving him a tiny daisy drawn next to the question, she tried really hard to copy his messy handwriting.

The entire tenth question was another attempt to psyche them out, but Ino knew Chōji had enough questions to pass. He, thank the First Hokage, did not panic and drop out. He might have if Naruto hadn't given a speech about how his ninja way didn't include quitting…

Naruto was a good guy, no matter what the adults thought…

  
  
Ino closed her eyes in embarrassment when Sakura complained loudly about the nature of the exam. Ino had suspected its purpose, especially since she recognized her father's colleagues as proctors.

They survived and passed to the Second Round, Ino knew Mitarashi Anko since she was friends with her Uncle Asuma and his girlfriend Kurenai. This could be interesting or bad…

XoooooooX

This time Shikamaru picked up Chōji and then they met her on the way to the Training Field.   
  


Somehow, Ino wasn't surprised when the training field was ‘Forest of Death’.

The appearance of Kurenai-sensei's little sister Moegi and her friends Sarutobi Konohamaru and Uchiha Udon with a camera was unexpected. Konohamaru was Ino’s baby cousin and Udon was likely some distant relative of Sasuke’s.

Sasuke being polite was odd, but he agreed with an interview and was candid with responses. Naruto was interviewed as well, but he was less open. Perhaps, he only ended up with the answers that he received from herself and Hinata.

Ino was stunned when Moegi skipped over to ask if she would agree to be interviewed… it was for a project assigned by Uchiha Shisui-sensei, another cousin of Udon and Sasuke likely.

Ino tilted her head in question at Sasuke, she noticed his glance at Sakura. Her ex-friend seemed like she would be more likely to scream at the academy students then be polite to them. Ino graciously agreed to the interview, she was a Yamanaka and Konohamaru's cousin after all. The least she could do was ensure they got a good grade.

  
  
Ino did keep it timely, she could tell Anko-san was getting impatient to begin…

Ino finished up, teased her cousin and promised to treat them to odango next time she saw them.

Konohamaru and his friends left, but they did properly thank Anko-san for her time and asked to interview her later for their project.

  
Anko-san also tried to frighten them, which was helped by the appearance of giant creatures like a snake that appeared to eat a bird that landed on tree as well as a giant millipede.  
  


That sparked a predictable complaint from Sakura, which caused Anko-san to slither behind her and frighten her by claiming she clearly wasn't prepared for the challenge of being a chūnin if a little thing like bugs and snakes bothered her.

Ino certainly wasn't saying anything, but those creatures weren't small. Their year's Aburame had been far too interested in the millipede then Ino was comfortable with. But that was something she didn't have to deal with because she was part of her generation's Ino-Shika-Cho team.

They were silent mostly as Anko-san explained they would be randomly given a Heaven or Earth scroll. They were expected to obtain the opposite scroll and arrive at the central tower within the forest within three days.

There were also release of liability forms in case they died or were injured, which sparked more whining from Sakura.

Ino was surprisingly asked by Sasuke to assist him in handing out the forms with Naruto. She didn't realize he paid her any mind. Perhaps, her comment the other day about not being one of his fangirls or having a crush on him had earned her his respect. They were cousins by marriage, her uncle Aichi had married his maternal aunt Mako.

Once they signed and exchanged their forms for their assigned scroll, they picked a random gate to wait until the exam officially began.

To Ino's annoyance, they ended up next to Sakura's team…

Which set her already uneasy ex-friend off, causing Ino to be subjected to the pinkette's insulting nickname ‘Ino-buta’. Ino retaliated with the name ‘billboard brow', but it wasn't an insult. She always thought Sakura's wide forehead was her charm point…

Ino didn’t really become upset with Sakura until she turned her caustic tongue on her teammates. Calling Chōji and Shikamaru names just because the pinkette felt insecure was all sorts of wrong. Ino defended her teammates, unintentionally calling out Sakura for having little skill outside of academic.

Eventually, thank the First Hokage, Sakura shut up and they stood in silence until the gate opened.

Shikamaru yawned and then followed them into the forest, but they were all hyperaware as the gate slammed shut behind them.

They reached a small clearing where Ino could see a patch of sky, she called a halt and waited until she could see a bird. It was a majestic eagle, she had plenty of practice switching minds with a cat to spy on her parents. It felt different, but what a rush, Ino had to submerge herself into the body of the bird to stay aloft.

Ino scanned the now seemingly much larger forest, the eagle may have a large wingspan but it was smaller than they were. She spotted the tower and did a hasty calculation before quickly returning to the clearing where an annoyed Shikamaru and anxious Chōji waited guarding her body.

Chōji hugged her as she came to with a gasp, “You’re alright. What did you do?”

Ino blinked, “I needed a better vantage point, so I found one. The trees are so tall that you and I wouldn’t feel comfortable climbing them.” She described what little she could tell of the terrain as well as the direction of the tower.

Shikamaru did the math on how far away the tower was, how fast they could travel, how fast they should travel, the best places to camp and the worst places to camp. He deduced that their best bet was to travel light and quick, heading straight for the tower. It was best to save their chakra to fight those already exhausted; especially, since most of the teams participating had more experience.

Chōji and Ino had no complaints, they quickly headed in the right direction, despite being deeply submerged in the eagle, Ino had enough human awareness to determine the direction and distance of the tower from her location as well as how far she had flown.

They travelled a brisk pace set by Shikamaru; intelligence-wise, Shikamaru was the logical leader. Chōji lacked confidence but he made up for it in determination and heart. 

Ino followed Shikamaru but she was independent as well; she knew they all had their strengths they were a team after all. She was determined to do her part to make sure that they passed the Second Round of the Exam.

XoooooooX

Ino and Shikamaru had packed rations, jutsu-sealed flasks of water and food pills mostly. They made dry camps, wanting to avoid being noticed. Just because Chōji could cook, didn’t mean it was wise. Ino had had a proper education for a daughter of an Elder, so she could cook, Chōji was just better at it.

They also slept in shifts, taking turns at standing watch to avoid being noticed or attacked.

They all knew that it was better to be as close to invisible as possible; especially, since most of the participants were so much older and more experienced.

  
They made good time, staying the shadows and Shikamaru as well as Chōji skidded to a halt when Ino froze.

A shout filled the forest… “Lee-san!”

Ino whispered, “Sakura…”

They may no longer be friends because Sakura decided to become a bully, but Ino knew that if she didn’t go to her former friend’s aid, she would never forgive herself. Ino followed the sound of a battle and trusted her teammates to follow her.

  
  
Neither spoke, Ino was grateful they didn’t question her.

To Ino’s horror, Sasuke and Naruto were down. They were clearly unconscious, laid beneath a large mangrove tree and Sakura was actually fighting. That was surprising, Sakura never seemed to put much effort into her taijutsu, despite having a natural affinity for it. If you could call using substitution jutsu and her teeth fighting. Sakura seemed to have finally learned to either stand up for herself or the value of protecting others. Ino was pained just seeing her struggle, while Ino had long hair by personal preference, Sakura had announced one day that Sasuke supposedly preferred long hair. Where she got that, when Sasuke had little use for others, was odd. But that Sakura sacrificed her hair, the one feature her former friend was proud of, to protect her crush had to mean something

Roku Lee, the bullied sempai from the year ahead of them at the Academy and part of the genin team under Gai-sensei with Hinata’s cousin Nēji had been defeated.

The plan to trick a Konoha team and then ambush had failed miserably with Nēji to Ino’s embarrassment. They had decided to try a different team, not Sakura’s because Naruto was a decently skilled ninja and they had Sasuke. Because they were friends, Ino didn’t want to damage Hinata’s shaky confidence even if they had a chance to defeat them. When Shikamaru mentioned challenging Kurenai-sensei’s team, Ino had glowered at him. That was not an option, he was better suited to finding an Amegakure team and plotting an offensive strategy. He wasn’t taking the easy way out by challenging Hinata’s team. There wasn’t even a guarantee that Team Kurenai would have the right scroll.

  
  
Before getting a chance to really discover what sort of skills these enemy ninja had, Ino had leapt between the shorter male ninja who had finally managed to throw Sakura off. To her relief, Shikamaru and Chōji had leap with her…  
  


Sakura murmured, “Why are you here? We’re enemies…”

“Because, even if we’re not friends, I can’t let you be hurt and do nothing. Chōji, help Sakura and Lee-san move out of danger.” 

Chōji, who was quite strong, quickly managed to get Lee and Sakura out of the battle area lying them near Naruto and Sasuke. Chōji didn’t seem to remember or care that Sakura had insulted him almost the point of tears just before this round of the Chūnin exams began.

Chōji then returned to Ino’s side.

That weird bandage guy snorted, “More Konohagakure worms wandered in to distract us from our prey, how annoying.”

Ino didn’t care if he was stronger, Sakura had long ago been taken into her protection and Ino would not embarrass her formidable grandfather the Third Hokage by being the weak link in the village’s Will of Fire.

Chōji whispered, “These guys are really strong, Ino-chan.”

“Well, as annoying as this is, we’re a team. We can’t call ourselves men if we let Ino go where we’re too scared to follow.” Shikamaru drawled boredly.

Ino sighed, “Sorry to drag you into my passionate battles, but we’re Ino-Shika-Cho. We’re a three-man squad and proud of our teamwork, we’ve always been in this together.”

Shikamaru shrugged, “We’ll see, hopefully, this won’t be boring.”

“Can’t I just guard the wounded?” Chōji asked hopefully.

“It’s okay for you to drop out, fatso. Cowards like you are easy marks for real ninja.”

Ino and Shikamaru exchanged shrugs, that guy really was an idiot. They weren’t referring to Chōji at all.

Chōji’s ears twitched, “What did that guy just say, Shikamaru?”

Out of the corner of her eyes, Ino saw Chōji stiffen and Shikamaru wince in sympathy, ‘fatso’ was a word that used to put Chōji in tears. But he had toughened up some since the Academy and it instead fueled him into a formidable fighter.

That spiky-haired ninja from Otogakure snapped, “I said, if you have a problem with fighting, just quit, fatso.”

Chōji spun around, snapping, “I’m not fat! I’m big-boned! Kuso, all Akimichi are large men! I’ll show you I’m not a fatso! You understand right? This is a battle between true shinobi from Konoha and Otogakure!”

Ino was glad that Chōji was fired up, that meant that they had a chance. No matter how small that chance was, she would grasp it with both hands.

Shikamaru predictably whined that this battle was going to troublesome, he was quite the lazy shinobi. Likely because things came to him easily and he didn’t really have to think. You had to stimulate Shikamaru mentally before you got his body involved, Ino knew that from their long acquaintance. She and Shikamaru practically shared the same birthday after all.

That spiky-haired Otogakure ninja grumbled that Shikamaru stole his line…

Great, another skilled ninja who didn’t like putting in effort.

She called back without turning around, “Sakura, you look after our wounded, we’ll handle these guys.”

From behind her, Sakura let out a sigh of relief, “I will.”  
  


That handled, Ino took up a fighting stance, “Alright, team. Let’s show them why Ino-Shika-Cho means teamwork.”

Chōji’s response was a very manly, determined, “Right.”

“Formation Ino,”

“Shika,”

“Cho!”

They all shouted with pride and even Shikamaru sounded a little determined, good!

Ino grinned, “We’re counting on you, Chōji!”

“Hai! Expansion jutsu! Konoha style taijutsu: Human Boulder.” Chōji barked out.

Ino watched with pride as Chōji didn’t even hesitate before going into battle, he really had matured.

The spiky-haired shinobi snorted, “What sort of jutsu is this? Isn’t it just some fatso rolling? Take this, fatso! Slicing sound wave!”

Chōji wasn’t pushed back, he just dug in and kept spinning.

“No good, seriously, how could some stupid guy like that not be properly effected by my jutsu?” the spiky guy snarled.

Then Chōji launched into the air, despite his spinning in this jutsu, he always seemed very aware of where everyone was in battle and managed to avoid ever hitting an ally. It was always impressive how much control and strength he showed when he got serious.

The spiky guy seemed worried and was debating whether or not to use his ‘one-trick jutsu’ against Chōji.

The bandage guy with horrible posture tried to intervene, only to have fallen into Shikamaru’s Ninja Art: Shadow Possession jutsu.

The spiky-haired ninja jumped at the last second but was still affected by the impact of Chōji on the ground and was left off-balance.

The girl yelled at the bandage guy, “Dosu, what are you doing?!” before realizing of course that Shikamaru had captured him.

Shikamaru boredly started having ‘Dosu’ copy his movements, likely a test of how good his control was, but also to demoralize the enemy.

“Ino, you’re up. The girl’s all yours.” Shikamaru drawled.

“Arigato, watch over my body,” Ino said playfully.

The Otogakure kunoichi blinked, “Huh?”

Ino didn’t waver, “Ninja Art: Mind Transfer jutsu!”

Under Ino’s control, Kin’s body stiffened. While she didn’t know any of the girl’s secret techniques or seen her fight, it didn’t matter. Ino was good, if she could demoralize the enemy by making their ally attack them, even with pure taijutsu, it was worth it.

The spiky-haired guy snapped at her as he kept trying to escape Chōji, “Kin!”

But it was of course too late, Ino giggled in ‘Kin’s’ body.

Dosu snapped, his mouth still worked even if his body was under Shikamaru’s control.

Since they didn’t act like a proper team, Ino didn’t see the point in threatening to kill Kin. They only saved one another out of pure self-interest.

Instead, she palmed one of Kin’s kunai and smirked, “If you think this girl is going to rescue you, you’re greatly mistaken. I would threaten to kill her, but I doubt you would care. I could demand your scroll and insist you leave now, promising to release Kin when I can’t sense your chakras, but I doubt it would be effective. So, I’ll just threaten to hamper your objective. You want to kill a very distant cousin of mine; I can’t let you do that. If you take one more step towards our wounded, I will have to kill both Kin and Dosu.”  
  


Ino leapt towards to Dosu, kunai landing on his bandaged throat. Intending to prove her determination, she just hoped that her impression of them was wrong.

“You’re right, we don’t care about the exam, the scrolls or our comrade’s lives. Our only goal is to battle or kill Sasuke.” Dosu sneered.

Abruptly, Sakura called out, “Chōji!”

Immediately, Chōji veered off his attack and tried to protect Ino in Kin’s body. Only to be blown into Kin and Dosu…

This, of course, caused Shikamaru to lose concentration, releasing Dosu who had Kin sprawled on top of him.

Shikamaru noticed a trickle of blood on Kin’s face, mirrored on Ino’s.

“Seems like your paralysis jutsu isn’t perfect.” Dosu taunted. “It also has a limit of what? Five minutes?”

“It’s shadow possession,” Shikamaru said testily, “not paralysis _._ Besides, who said it had a limit of only five minutes?”

Dosu continued undaunted. “Additionally, it seems that your kunoichi’s jutsu has a fatal flaw, whatever happens to her victim’s body affects her. She seems to be able to fully possess another’s body, but at what cost?

Shikamaru snapped. “So, Ino’s analysis was right. You really wouldn’t care if your teammate was threatened. You’d even kill her yourself if it suited you. What do they teach in Otogakure? You can’t be a team without teamwork! I might be lazy, but even I know that.”

Dosu wrenched the kunai away from Kin’s Ino-controlled hand, “If she realized she was weak and her continued existence threatened to prevent us from succeeding in our mission, of course, she would gladly die. She has no more interest in us than we do in her. You’re too easy-going, you Konohagakure worms are just too soft and weak. You will be easily destroyed.”

Ino knew she was in trouble, but she didn’t have control of Kin’s hands to release the jutsu.

“Well, isn’t this annoying? You pathetic Otogakure ninja, this is how you act in your first Chūnin exam? Don’t you know that shinobi train for hours, months, years even to have the opportunity that you are squandering? I suppose that most would say- you’ve treated my cute kōhais abominably, and I want to avenge them. You’ve also managed to defeat my teammate since we need him and a scroll to complete this round. I suppose I’ll have to step in. I can’t be shown up by my kōhais after all. Besides, I hate those who use their power to squash others.”

Shikamaru’s head snapped towards the tree the voice was coming from, Ino was shamed. After how she failed to trick Nēji, he still came here?

“It seems like you Konohagakure rookies are coming out like cockroaches, perhaps, I should put you all out of your misery. I wonder how devastated this place would be if we killed you all right here?” Dosu taunted.

“Like I said, being their sempai, I would be expected to look out for them. You also messed with the boy in green, he’s my teammate. I see his girl here, of course, he would have protected her and the three of you, who had no honor, fought him together, didn’t you?” Nēji snapped as he activated his Byakugan.

Since when did Nēji take notice or care about anyone? He had always been a loner, well for as long as Ino had been friends with Hinata. She didn’t know if he had been different before his parents died…

Nēji continued furiously, “If you’re going to continue this, I’ll have to avenge them with full strength.”

Ino watched as Nēji began to fight the Otogakure ninja, just when Nēji was starting to show exhaustion. Sasuke woke up and seemed to be protected by a giant fist that glowed lavender…

The two of them drove the Otogakure ninja into a retreat but despite all of their efforts, neither team claimed the Otogakure ninja’s scroll.

Ino and her team were all showing signs of exhaustion as they limped away from that fight. They were only alive because Hinata’s cousin Nēji appeared.

While he gave the impression that he cared nothing for others, because they didn’t care about him, he had to have some good in him.

Hinata would be so happy to hear that he saved her, Ino knew that her best friend worried about

Nēji since he was alone a lot.

They made their way towards the tower; they were able to figure out how to get back on track with a compass.

Shikamaru had memorized the direction from Ino’s experience with the hawk.

They were surprised when they had a stroke of luck.

Ino, Shikamaru and Chōji came had been arguing to open it prematurely and cheat by making a fake scroll. Ino had taken control of the teammate with the scroll. Shikamaru seized the two other teammates with his shadow possession jutsu just long enough for Chōji to flatten them.

Ino relinquished control of her victim just prior to being knocked unconscious by Chōji. Chōji retrieved the scroll, raising his hand in triumph and they immediately took off.

Thankfully, it was a short battle, taking advantage of the enemy’s distraction, but it got them this far.

XoooooooX

Ino spotted Nēji, Lee and Tenten arriving at the Tower just ahead of them.

They entered the tower when the doors allowed them in.

Ino read the poem painted in beautiful calligraphy.

Shikamaru grumbled, “How troublesome, clearly, the one who possesses great intelligence is someone with heaven. While the one who trains their body and not their mind, possess earth. One can only truly be a person, or rather a ninja when they have both. We’re supposed to open both together…”

Ino and Chōji did so… and they were surprised when Shikamaru’s mother appeared.

Shikamaru frowned, “What are you doing here?”

His mother punched him, “You have manners, but clearly the lesson of this poem is lost on one like you.”

Ino blinked, “Why are you here, Nara-san?”

  
  
“Well, a chūnin is supposed to welcome you. Ino-chan, your mother Akane was busy with the shop, while your fathers are all jōnin, so they couldn’t take this role. For all your laziness,” Nara Yoshino sighed, “I am proud of you, Shikamaru for taking the exam and completing this round.”

Ino beamed at her since their fathers were the previous generation’s ultimate Ino-Shika-Cho, she had spent a lot of time with Chōji and Shikamaru. Despite her ‘uncles’ Shikaku and Chōza’s teasing about her being a girl, her Otosan never made her feel inferior for being a girl. In fact, she was trained just as hard as a boy in her Clan.

Yoshino-san wished them well and promised that their fathers would be all the prouder to join them for yakiniku. She disappeared, likely to inform Ino’s mother Akane and Chōji’s mother Meilin. Since both Ino and Shikamaru’s fathers worked for the Interrogation and intelligence, Ino suspected that they were watching the entire round through hidden cameras.

They made their way into the waiting room when Ino found Hinata waiting with Shino.

Hinata probably healed her own team ages ago and shyly waved Ino over to after they arrived.

Ino ran forward, “You’re here! I’m so proud! How long have you been here?”

“With my Byakugan and Shino’s skill with insects, we got here… thirteen hours after this round started,” Hinata admitted shyly.

Ino mouthed the time in awe, before hugging her friend and wincing in pain.

Ino was pleased and more than a little grateful when Hinata offered to patch Ino up herself. Despite Naras having skills at making medicine, Shikamaru had never shown skill at healing jutsus and Chōji lacked the confidence to be tested. He assumed that anything outside of Akimichi secret jutsu was difficult…

Ino blamed that jerk Mizuki for that, he was so subtle in his undermining students. Ino didn’t know Sasuke’s cousin Shisui; but surely, he was a much better teacher then Mizuki… 

Hinata asked quietly, “Do you think I should offer to help Nēji nii-san?”

Ino grinned at her, “He thinks he has no one, but you’re practically siblings where it counts. He’s likely the only one with some skill at healing, but he doesn’t seem to have done anything.”

Hinata gave her a small smile before heading over to her cousin’s team.

Both the weapons mistress Tenten and the spandex-wearing taijutsu specialist gratefully accepted her aid while Hinata’s cousin scowled at her.

When Hinata offered him aid, he merely turned his back on her.

But not before Ino saw a sparkle of gratitude and sorrow…

So, he lashed out because he was lonely, that made sense. Either that or he felt that the clan princess shouldn’t tend his injuries. After his father died, his mother passed away soon after. Hinata said that relations between the main house and her cousin deteriorated. He was invited to the main house rarely and came even less so.

Unlike Hinata, whose first day at the Academy and graduation was celebrated as Ino’s was, Nēji’s seemed to have been ignored. A pity, Hinata remembered him as very skilled despite being about a year older than her. He was the most talented rookie in his year and had been chosen for the Chūnin exams just as they had. Ino worried for Hinata, she knew that the Third Round was always one-on-one mock battles. This meant that since Hinata survived this round that they would be destined for a match up. The only question was when, after all, the Uchiha Shisui and Uchiha Itachi match from a few years ago had been impressive. It was rare that two members of the same clan ended up passing to the third round together, when that happened there was usually an effort to match them up at some point.

A thought that sent a chill down Ino’s spine, it was likely that both she and her best friend would be paired up in the unluckiest for them matches.

The worst person for Ino to face wasn’t Nēji or Sasuke… it was Sakura. If they didn’t pair up Sasuke and Naruto, it would be Nēji and Naruto. Someone like Naruto who didn’t apply themselves but had access to the sort of doublings she sensed, needed to be taught a lesson to respect those who were their superiors.  
  


That is if Ino listened to her Yamanaka grandfather. Her maternal grandfather, the Third Hokage would say that every ninja in Konoha had their own skills meant to be honed for the continuation of the Will of Fire. Ino maybe the Yamanaka heir but she intended to integrate the Third Hokage’s concept of the Will of Fire into her future leadership of the Clan.

Despite her unsurerity and lack of confidence, Hinata had moved through looked after her own team, Ino’s and even her cousin Nēji’s offering healing so that they could be more recovered when they officially began the Third Round.

Hinata was a much more aware and wiser ninja then she gave herself credit for. For all Ino’s belief in her best friend, even Ino hadn’t expected a second-place finish of thirteen hours for her best friend. While Hinata tried to say that Shino did most of the work, Ino knew that wasn’t quite true. Hinata would have found the best route to the tower using a giant millipede that Shino would have requested.

Like Sasuke, Kiba was an heir but not the most likely heir to the Inuzuka Clan.

However, most of the rookies here were heirs to their clans: Hinata herself, Ino, Shikamaru, Chōji and Shino.

Whether it was intentional or not, Hinata’s actions after the Second Round would be remembered by them.

Ino was pleased how far Hinata had come from the girl she met when they were about five. That girl cried about cutting flowers and hid when the time came to practice the Gentle Fist. Now, Hinata trained at times of her own choosing as well as when it was required. Hinata’s Ikebana was second only to Ino’s own, Hinata was well-trained before the academy in rudimentary female arts. Unlike Ino herself, Hinata would likely grow up to be a fine matriarch who cared for each member of her Clan as an individual. She would likely also incorporate her perceived rivals Nēji and her own sister Hanabi into her leadership. Unlike their paternal grandfathers who ruled their Clans harshly, they would be different.

Ino looked forward to seeing Hinata grow into the leader she was destined to be. Building connections with other Clans seemed instinctive for her, it would never have occurred to Ino to volunteer to heal those outside of her own team.

Ino just wanted to be a Clan Elder that her grandfather, the Third Hokage was proud of…

XoooooooX

Not long after Sakura and Kabuto arrived with their teams, Ino watched as Hinata offered to heal Sakura’s team.

Sasuke seemed to agree but gestured at Naruto.

Ino took that to mean that Hinata could heal him, but only if she treated Naruto first. Hinata merely smiled and didn’t give any sign of being afraid of Naruto. Hinata was the sort who never had anything bad to say about anyone, even if they were cruel to her.

Sasuke allowed Hinata to heal his external injuries, but when Hinata tried to approach Sakura, Ino’s former friend turned up her nose at her and crossed her arms.

  
Ino sighed, sometimes Sakura could be so stupidly stubborn…

XoooooooX

Not long after Sakura and her team arrived with Kabuto and his team, Ino was surprised when an unwell looking Anko-sempai arrived.

They were congratulated as to how well they did and that they had all passed. A preliminary round would be necessary due to the unprecedented number of teams that finished.

They were escorted to the Academy when Ino was proud to see her uncle Asuma looking smug with his girlfriend, Hinata’s sensei Kurenai as well as Ino’s grandfather, the Third Hokage.

Ino straightened and tried to look respectful when her grandfather’s eyes lingered on her when he congratulated them. Ino knew he was proud of her!

A colleague of Ino and Shikamaru’s fathers, Hayate introduced himself as the Third Round’s proctor.

He repeated what Anko-sempai said about a preliminary round, Ino wanted to smack her own forehead when Sakura rudely protested about the need for one. Claiming it was ‘unfair’…

To Ino, it made sense that one would be necessary. After all, with seven teams and twenty-one participants, expecting visiting dignitaries such as the Kage and the daimyos, to sit through ten or eleven matches of preliminaries before the five final matches seemed too much.

Kabuto-sempai’s resignation after so many attempts seemed odd. His protest about the Oto-nin’s attack just prior to the First Round’s officially beginning seemed strange. They had a full night between the prior rounds for him to be healed. Ino had been uneasy about him before, but this sealed her impression. Something wasn’t right about Kabuto-sensei…

  
  
Ino was only too pleased to pass on her sensei’s offer to treat her team as well as Kurenai-sensei’s team and their families to yakiniku.  
  


Kurenai promised them odango as dessert after dinner if they hurried to fetch their families.  
  


Ino squeezed Hinata’s hand and they left together.

They encountered Kō, Hinata’s bodyguard outside the Academy.

“Hinata-sama, you passed. We are so proud of you!”

Kō and his sister were likely proud, Ino was less sure of the rest of the Clan.

  
  
Ino grinned at Hinata, “Your Princess came in second, thirteen hours.”

Ko beamed, “That is a wonderful record, Hinata-sama. Shall I inform the Elder and your father?”

Hinata swallowed, “Thank you, but I should tell them myself.”

Ino squeezed Hinata’s hand, “I’ll see you soon!”

Kō left with Hinata, Ino prayed that the Hyūga Elder and Hinata’s father would be proud of her.

Second and a thirteen-hour finish was quite the accomplishment…  
  


XoooooooX  
  


Hinata returned with Kō and his sister Natsu, her eyes were sad, but her lips were smiling.

Kō looked uneasy and his sister as well.

Ino didn’t dare ask, it was obvious either Hinata’s grandfather and father refused to hear her, or they were dismissive of her accomplishment. Ino just linked her arm with Hinata, “Let’s celebrate! Natsu and Kō can eat with us. I am sure that Asuma-sensei reserved a room for us.”

It was so, Asuma had reserved a room for them.

Ino had been accompanied by her parents Inoichi and Akane, it made Ino pained on Hinata’s behalf that her family didn’t seem to care.

Ino exchanged a sad nod with Kurenai-sensei when she saw Hinata only had Kō and Natsu, who was Hanabi’s maid with her friend from the Hyūga Clan.

Kurenai was, of course, sitting with Asuma and waived over Ino’s parents while Ino led the three Hyūgas over join Chōji and Shikamaru.

Chōji and Ino predictably fought over their own grill, while Natsu insisted on cooking for Ino, Hinata-sama and Kō. Hinata tried to protest but was told that it wasn’t right for their princess to serve them.

Hinata had reluctantly given in, Ino smiled to herself, Kō was brave to support Hinata when her own family wouldn’t.


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Ino, Shikamaru and Chōji arrived early, with Shikamaru predictably protesting that being awake this early was ‘troublesome’.

Ino was proud when her cousin by marriage Sasuke’s match was first, he won to Ino’s excitement. She was surprised to see him having copied Lee’s jutsu to some extent, but he won with mostly taijutsu and not using much chakra. Which made sense since his opponent’s jutsu appeared to steal chakra.

The next match was Hinata’s teammate Shino, who boredly seemed to beat Zaku whom Ino and her team had faced before.

The third match was the older Suna-nin Kankurō against the last of Kabuto-sempai’s teammates: a Tsurugi Misumi. That one tried using a jutsu to dislocate his joints and manipulated his body with chakra. Only Kankurō revealed himself as a puppet user and had used a substitution jutsu somewhen before Tsurugi attempted to snap the Suna-nin’s neck. Kankurō quickly turned the tide after that and Tsurugi was defeated after being made unconscious.

When Ino’s name came up for the fourth match of the Third Round of the Chūnin exams’ preliminaries, she was surprised and a bit annoyed that her suspicion of her opponent had been correct.

She was supposed to fight her former friend turned bully. A match-up she had been worried would become a reality since they both completed the objective of the Second Round.

Ino took her place in the fighting arena, eyes narrowing as the pinkette strode confidently to stop in front of her.

“Well, well, if it isn’t Ino-buta.”

Ino still wasn’t used to being targeted by Sakura’s temper, “Nice to see you… billboard brow.”

“So, are you ready to battle? Be prepared to lose, Ino-buta.”

Ino snorted, “Not today or any other day, Sakura.”

“I can’t see why I should just roll over and let you win.” Sakura spat.

Ino didn’t mean it the way it sounded, she had only ever sought to help make Sakura and Hinata become stronger and find their ‘Will of Fire, “I wouldn’t want a former friendship to factor in on whether or not we win.”

“Yamanaka Ino vs Haruno Sakura, begin.”

The two of them stared at one another and then, Sakura clenched her hand to drive a punch into Ino’s face.

“We’re fighting over Sasuke,” Sakura announced.

Ino blinked, “Why? He’s not even my type. Why don’t we fight over whether you owe Hinata an apology for being cruel?”

“She’s just a crybaby,” Sakura muttered.

Ino sighed, “You still haven’t learned.”

“Learned what?” Sakura spat.

“That,” Ino shook her head.

Sakura attacked relentlessly, leaving Ino unable to finish her sentence.

Ino was surprised that Sakura had improved enough to fight relentlessly like that. Sure, she had fought admirably in the Forest of Death, but that was after Naruto, Sasuke and Lee had been defeated. Ino had dived in because she couldn’t stand to see Sakura beaten up, even if they weren’t friends anymore.

Ino began fighting back, while Chōji was strong, he never fought full strength for fear of hurting them. No matter how much her uncle Asuma-sensei begged, threatened or cajoled, he still held back. Shikamaru still never put any effort in… having known him since they were literally babies, Ino doubted he ever would.

Ino finally caught enough space to use her mind transfer jutsu.

She sagged to the ground in exhaustion with Shikamaru and Chōji’s shouting at her not to do it echoing in her ears.

The mind she entered was confused, angry and vicious…

Ino was talented in her family’s secret jutsus; nevertheless, she had never met someone with this strength of will. Normally, Ino was working with her team. Trapping an enemy while Shikamaru guarded her and Chōji attacked.

Here she was on her own, unlike Sakura who had hid behind her teammates, relying on their strength, Ino chose to prove herself by standing on her own feet.

Ino wanted to prove that she wasn’t the weak link in her team. Ino was surprised to have Sakura continue to put up this much of a fight…

They both fought for control of Sakura’s body, with Sakura taking difficult, almost wooden steps towards Ino’s prone body with Ino struggling for control of her former friend’s body.

Sakura’s body collapsed near Ino’s own but without doing the damage that Ino felt that the pinkette wanted to inflict.

Ino’s last conscious thought before blackness wrapped her in its arms was, ‘did I win’?

XoooooooX

Ino woke up on the wall of the second level of the battle arena for the preliminaries of the Third Round. She was sitting between Shikamaru and Chōji, the familiar sound of Chōji eating potato chips was comforting.

She felt weak and exhausted, she could barely turn her head, “Did I win?”

Shikamaru snorted, “Double knockout. Haruno went down and you never got back up after casting the Mind-Transfer jutsu. I could have told you that was a poor move.”

Ino sighed, she would let Shikamaru analyze her match later. He likely had serious insight…

She was out of the Chūnin exams, for all of Uncle Asuma’s training and her family’s pride, she had failed. It was a mutual defeat, but honestly, how did she fail to win over Sakura?

The match between Nēji’s teammate Tenten was practically over when she woke up.

The next match was between Shikamaru and the Oto-kunoichi.

Shikamaru predictably called it troublesome, complained about the Oto-Kunoichi’s style being predictable. He had seemed to underestimate her, but it seemed calculated to get her to reveal the secret of her sound-based jutsu.

Ino expected Shikamaru would win when she saw a shadow grow beneath a string controlled by the Oto-kunoichi and realized how close the other teenage ninja was to the wall.

Just as Ino suspected, Shikamaru tricked her into leaning backwards to dodge Shikamaru’s kunai, only for the kunoichi to have misjudged or at least forgotten how close she was to that wall. Ino snickered, how Shikamaru to let the enemy take themselves out.

The nest match-up made weird sense, the two class troublemakers Kiba and Naruto.

Kiba had grown a lot, just as Hinata had since graduation. Ino was surprised when Naruto calmly called Kiba slow, revealed a shocking skill for in-battle strategy and beat Kiba despite appearing to let the Inuzuka do most of offense in their fight.

Ino had to admit that clearly, Naruto had matured the most since the Academy and definitely deserved to win.

When the eighth match was announced, Ino was horrified that she was right. It was Hinata vs Nēji…

The expression on Nēji’s face was so out of character, he never showed that much emotion. He looked like he was about to explode with anger. Ino felt a chill, she limped over to Hinata, still a bit sore from her match with Sakura. She took Hinata’s hands, “I know I’m always encouraging you, but I’m worried. Something’s up with Nēji, please think hard. I will always support you, but I’m afraid you’ll be hurt.”

Hinata squeezed her hands, “Thanks for worrying about me, I only have to do my best. Nēji nii-san is very strong, I hadn’t faced him in a long time. The only way I will truly see how I’ve grown is if I face him. I promise not to run away.”

Ino felt her sense of uneasy grow as Hinata made her way to this round’s proctor.

Despite Hinata’s brave words, her friend was trembling.

Nēji’s reception of her accepting their match was to insult Hinata, to depict her as a coward.

“You should withdraw now; you don’t have the skill to be a ninja. You’re not even our Clan’s proper heir anymore, are you? You’ve been thrown away, same as I was. You should quit now. Everyone knows you’re too kind and gentle to be a proper ninja, much less the Head of our Clan. You seek harmony and show kindness, these are weakness in a shinobi. You lack confidence, it would have been better for everyone if you withdrew before the preliminary started. You never wanted to take part in these exams, but they require a three-man team.”

“That’s not true.” Hinata’s voice trembled. “Being kind doesn’t have to be a weakness! I have confidence, I got this far. The Chūnin exams were my choice. I’m going to prove I’m not useless. I wanted to see if I could be strong on my own. I wanted to prove I am not worthless.”

“You want to run; I can see it. You’re the pampered princess of the Hyūga, and yet, you’ll always be a coward at heart.”

Ino who was using the railing to brace herself yelled, “Don’t listen to him, Hinata! He doesn’t know you! He doesn’t see your heart! You’re strong, I know it. I’ve seen it. Show him! Show him, show them all!”

While Ino worried for Hinata, she’d support her friend even if she was afraid for her.

Then Ino saw to her pride as a best friend as Hinata’s eyes closed and she took a deep breath. Her stance changed, and her expression hardened.

Ino watched as Hinata activated her own Byakugan and took a fighting stance. “Defend yourself, Nēji nii-san.”

“Very well, but you will lose, and it will hurt.”

The two of them matched blow for blow, strike for strike.

Nēji just attacked with a vengeance, Ino winced. She knew just enough about the Gentle Fist style to know that even a glancing blow could have a devastating effect.

Then they had another bout, only for Nēji’s to strike Hinata in the chest and cause her to cough up blood. He revealed the marks from his having directly attacked her chakra network.

“I bet you’re wondering if this was worth the pain, it’s not. You should just resign.”

“Shut up, Nēji! You’re a disgrace when you talk like that! You’re family! For a Clan who has the symbol of their clan be fire, you failed to understand what the Will of Fire means.” Ino found herself shouting.

Ino watched heart in her throat as the two Hyūga kept fighting, with Hinata refusing to quit despite the difference in skill.

Nēji might have been proud of her determination, that is if he clearly wasn't perceiving it as Main House arrogance. His attacks became more vicious as his anger kept boiling and boiling.

Then, he went for what his expression suggested was a kill attack.

How Ino found the strength or speed for this, she would likely never know. She placed herself between Nēji and Hinata. His attack struck Ino instead and he looked dumbfounded when she smacked him.

“You disqualified her!” Nēji snapped.

“You were supposed to fight her! Not demoralize her or kill her! You’re family! This is not how you teach! You may be one of the oldest Clans, but with tactics like this… I can’t believe that the First Hokage invited you! You see Hinata’s kindness and need to care for others as a weakness. It’s a strength! It means that she would never ask anyone to do that which she was unwilling to do herself. She’s not the girl you knew, she’s stronger, braver and kinder than you will ever be.”

Ino smacked him a second time. “I can’t believe you think you’re our future! If you don’t understand the Will of Fire, you don’t deserve to be a ninja of Konoha! Your eyes missed something that Hinata could see. She’s always worrying about you; she can see how you’ve been hurting. How you’ve blamed yourself for being cursed and called yourself weak. When you train beyond what most Branch… no, beyond what any Hyūga does. She can see that you’re suffering, that there was some horribleness that grew as a result of this Branch and Main House divergence.”

Ino painfully lifted Hinata in her arms, grateful for her friend’s smaller size and headed for the door that the medic-nin had come from previously.

Ino sensed something wrong the moment she stepped into the corridor, she leaned heavily against the wall. She checked on Hinata’s pulse and shouted, she could hear the terror in her own voice, “Medic! I can’t feel her heartbeat!”

Medic-nin appeared at once.

“Give her to us, she’s going into cardiac arrest.” One said sharply.

“Stay with me, Hinata! Don’t die on me! You’ve got to save her!” Ino found herself begging. She couldn’t lose her best friend, she just couldn’t.

Ino ignored Kurenai-sensei, she was going to tell the one Hyūga who seemed to care: Kō.

She knew that she would likely miss Chōji’s match, but he would understand. If it was Shikamaru whose heart had stopped, he would miss her match, if their roles were reversed. Ino would apologize later.

XoooooooX

Ino would negotiate a dinner to celebrate Sasuke, Naruto, Shikamaru and Shino’s win. She just needed to wait a little while longer for Lee and Hinata to be properly mobile. Hinata was still in bad shape…

Ino had requested a copy of Hinata’s match from her father.

He had given her a strange look, either he guessed her plan, or he was content not to ask.

Ino made her way to the Hyūga compound and asked a surprised Natsu where to find Hinata’s father.

Natsu reluctantly told her, Ino thanked her and introduced herself to the next Hyūga Elder. “I have something from my father. I believe it is in the clan’s best interest for you to see this.”

Hyūga Hiashi reluctantly dismissed Hinata’s younger sister Hanabi and let Ino follow him to his study where he played the tape.

Ino did her best to keep her temper, she wanted to shame Hinata’s father, not embarrass her own family with her behavior.

The look on Hiashi-san’s face as he watched Hinata get up again and again, was a small victory.

“I suppose… I should thank you.” The older ninja muttered.

“I would do the same for any of my friends, Hinata is my best friend and precious to me because of that. It is easy to dismiss her, but I think what some would see as a weakness is actually a strength. Perhaps, as the daughter of one of Konoha’s best interrogators, I have a different perspective.”

“I will keep this information under advisement,” Hiashi said stiffly.

Ino bowed, “I thought you should know, she finished second. Her team completed the Second Round in thirteen hours. She also was willing since the round was completed for her to show honor to the fellow heirs of notable families and treat our wounds so we could be at our best today. Even as the granddaughter of the Third Hokage, it did not cross my mind that the honorable thing would be to heal one’s comrades so that we would have a fair match today.”

With that, Ino left Hinata’s father with a lot to think about. She just hoped that he saw her way of thinking…

Hinata was not an embarrassment! Hinata was the Hyūga’s Heart, Nēji was their intelligence and Hanabi had the potential to be their Strength. She just hoped that Hiashi realized this before he destroyed his relationship with Hinata permanently. 


End file.
